Rs234 billion KP supplementary budget presented

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday presented a supplementary budget of Rs234 billion with Rs64.72 billion for developmental expenditures and Rs 170.26 billion current expenditures for the outgoing fiscal year 2021-22.

The provincial government, while presenting the annual budget for the current financial year, had claimed the budgetary figures as surplus and balanced but according to financial experts, the extra expenditures in the developmental sectors and re-appropriation of funds at the end of the financial year reflected that the budget was a deficit one.

About the current expenditures, Finance Minister Taimur Salim Jhagra said the total estimate for the non-developmental expenditures was about Rs 747.23 billion in the annual budget for 2021-21.It included about Rs 99 billion for the newly merged tribal district but under the revised estimate, the current expenditures had reached Rs 894.09 billion, thus the total revised estimates were about Rs 146.86 billion for the outgoing financial years.

The provincial minister said due to re-appropriations of funds, extra-spending in the allocated grants and induction of some objects in the grants had put an extra burden of about Rs 170.26 billion on the public kitty.

Giving the details in the supplementary budget, the minister said a sum of about 80 million was allocated to the provincial assembly for the annual increment, allowances, honorarium of the employees and electricity bills and petroleum products charges during the current years.

For the provincial Administration Department, a total of Rs 545.5 million were released for vehicles purchase, house rent, executive allowances and annual increment of the employees.For new recruitment and other purposes in the Police Department, a total of Rs 4.15 billion amount was released to the Police Department while an amount of Rs 519.3 million was released to the Prison Department for the purchase of CCTV cameras and uniforms for different jails of the province.

The Roads and Buildings Department was released a total of Rs 3.05 billion for the repair and reconstruction of roads and buildings in the province. The Industries Department was allocated Rs 1.08 billion including Rs 494 million for holding Expo in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, during the outgoing financial year.

Similarly, a sum of Rs 5.40 billion was approved for Pro-Poor Initiative for Food Support Programme by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa go­v­ern­ment.A sum of Rs 31 billion and Rs 4.22 billion were released for district governments’ salaries and grants to local councils respectively.

For developmental projects, a total of Rs 371.07 billion was reflected in the annual budget for 2021-22 which reached Rs 420.91billion in the revised estimates thus a total of Rs 49.83 were spent extra during the current financial year. However, the province got a sum of Rs 30.94 from the federal government for the PSDP projects in the province while a total of Rs 33.77 billion was spent on early completion and expedition of works on different schemes in the province. Rs 170.26 billion shown as current expenditure and Rs 64.72 billion as developmental expenditures in the supplementary budget for 2021-22.